A pensioner has revealed how he was once a suspect in the Cannock Chase murders and was interrogated by police desperately trying to find the killer.

Arthur Ward, now 86, had just moved to Great Wyrley, near Walsall, at the time of the killings.

He was living in the village with wife Helen and their three young children when police knocked at his door.

Arthur recalled: “I was driving the same car as the suspect, which was an Austin Cambridge.

“One police officer said if I swept my hair to the side I just looked like the e-fit of the man they were looking for.

“I was questioned for quite some time.

“They asked me how to pronounce Caldmore a part of Walsall which has a distinctive local way of saying it. I pronounced it how it sounded which was different from the local man they were looking for. It got me off the hook.”

Wife Helen, 78, added: “They were anxious times for everyone. We had three small children at the time and everyone was fearful. Three little girls had been murdered and we didn’t know when the killer would strike again.”

Cannock was abuzz yesterday with the news that Morris had died, as memories of those dark days resurfaced.

Shirley Hill, from Pye Green, said: “My brother Kenneth Jackson worked for the local paper the Cannock Advertiser at the time. It was a massive story, a horrible time. Thank god the police finally found Morris and locked him up.

“I heard the news of his death this morning. Good riddance is what I say.’’

Anthony Terry, 75, from Great Wyrley added: “Cannock was in a state of alert at the time. Everyone was in shock. Everyone feared for their little brothers and sisters. Children started to be kept indoors.”

Kevin Seager, 66, from Cannock, added: “The media descended on Cannock at the time. The town suddenly became infamous. They were worrying times. We all just wanted the killer found.”